Wednesday, June 19, 2013

People Change is BPMs Roadblock

With today's powerful BPM technology and executive management's appetite for wanting better business outcomes, we are facing a wave of unprecedented change at warp speed. With the latent demand for change and the powerful BPM capabilities the newest challenge is to implement change without casualties. People hate change and put up roadblocks without careful approaches.

If you want a regret free change program (no casualties), there are some very good principles to apply process efforts that range from simple to transformational change. Good leadership enacts change by leveraging the following principles:

Consistency:

A good leader communicates consistently about the chance and "the good" that would come from it. If the going gets tough, this leader calmly persists and tunes the change to circumstances. Sometimes leaders are tempted to force a change because it is just a gut feeling. Even if it is, the desired outcomes need to be repeated consistently. When people start seeing the results, a tipping point will occur.

Sensitivity:

A good leader makes sure that many points of view are anticipated and prepared for in advance of the change. It is easy to say "get on board or get out of the way" and act out of power and force. A really good leader will reach to people where they are despite the pressures that are on a leaders shoulders

Patience:

A good leader will understand that changes are complex and have many parts. There will be parts of the change that move fast and others that will lag. A good leader will know what parts require more time and understand that several approaches will be needed, such as visual incentives and logic.

Intelligence:

People are pretty smart and they want to understand that the change will be good for the organization and the very customers they serve. A good leader will show evidence of success in other contexts or show a simulation of alternatives over a long period of time.